ZURICH (AP) — Finland won the ice hockey world championship for the fifth time on Sunday, beating Switzerland 1-0 in overtime.
The Buffalo Sabres' Konsta Helenius scored the gold-winning goal 10:42 into overtime. The 20-year-old Helenius netted from the right circle, beating Switzerland goaltender Leonardo Genoni with his team's 28th shot on goal.
Finland netminder Justus Annunen shut out Switzerland with 22 saves.
“We have a strong culture, you leave your ego outside the locker room, and that’s why it’s so awesome to come and play for Finland,” defenseman Olli Maatta said.
Finland also won in 1995, 2011, 2019 and 2022.
Switzerland wasted a two-minute, 5-on-3 advantage that started six seconds before the end of the opening period.
The final was a rematch of the two teams from their last group stage game, which the Swiss won 4-2.
That was the only loss for the Finns, who finished second in their preliminary group behind the Swiss. They went on to eliminate the Czechs 4-1 in the quarterfinals and upset tournament favorite Canada 4-2 in the semifinals.
Finland was led by captain Aleksander Barkov, who missed the entirety of the Florida Panthers’ season because of a major knee injury suffered 20 minutes into his first practice of training camp. The tournament was his first action in competitive games since the Panthers won their second consecutive Stanley Cup last June.
Barkov powered the Finns with three goals and eight assists from 10 games at the worlds.
Swiss disappointment
After finishing runner-up in the previous two years, host Switzerland hoped for more this time in front of its home crowd in Zurich.
Home fans clapped, chanted and cheered tirelessly throughout the tournament.
“It’s a huge disappointment, but, it’s hockey,” Switzerland forward Denis Malgin said. “It was a 0-0 game. We had our chances, and in OT it can go either way.”
Switzerland failed to score a single goal in the three finals.
The Swiss lost to the Czechs 2-0 in 2024, and were defeated by the U.S. 1-0 in overtime last year. They also finished second in 2018 and 2013 when they were defeated by rival Sweden.
Switzerland also finished second back in 1935.
No medal for Canada
Norway stunned Canada 3-2 in overtime of the bronze medal game to capture its first ice hockey world championship medal.
Noah Steen scored the winner 3:32 into overtime. The previous best result for Norway was a fourth-place finish in 1951.
In a wild ending, Canada was 2-0 down when it pulled netminder Jet Greaves. Robert Thomas then scored from the slot to reduce the deficit with 1:16 remaining in the final period with an unassisted goal.
With eight seconds to go, captain Macklin Celebrini and Ryan O’Reilly set up Thomas for his second to tie it at 2-2, forcing overtime.
Earlier, Emilio Pettersen gave Norway a 1-0 lead in the opening period and Stian Solberg added another with a deflected shot in the second. Goaltender Henrik Haukeland stopped 44 shots.
Greaves made 21 saves for Canada.
The Canadians have come up short at the worlds since they won their last and record 28th title in 2023.
They finished fourth in 2024 and were stunned 2-1 by Denmark in the quarterfinals last year.
The worlds ended in disappointment for Canada again this year despite a lineup that included teenage sensation Celebrini as captain and NHL great Sidney Crosby in addition to several established NHL stars, including O’Reilly, John Tavares and Mark Scheifele.
Canada managed to win all of its group games, including a 6-5 victory over Norway in overtime, and eliminated defending champion U.S. in the quarterfinals.
But Finland, led by Barkov, proved too good in the semifinals.
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